SHICK Counselor Information and Resources

The 2019 Federal Poverty Guidelines and LIS Resource Limits details the income and resource limits for the Social Security Extra Help program for Medicare Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage).

The Medicare Plan Finder Intake form is for use by counselors when reporting problems or issues with the Medicare Plan Finder, especially during the annual Open Enrollment Period. Once you complete this form, it should be forwarded to the state SHICK Office.

The Medicare Part D Drug Coverage Worksheet is used when counseling Medicare beneficiaries with the Part D coverage.

The SHICK Handbook is updated annually and is used by counselors as a Reference handbook for Medicare questions. This document is in PDF format, 262 pages, formatted to be printed double-sided with an inner margin large enough for 3-hole punching. It can be downloaded to your computer, tablet, smartphone, or other electronic device for electronic use.

Medicare Plan Finder Intake Form Instructions

Please follow the instructions below when filling out an intake form to report a potential issue with the Medicare Plan Finder. Make sure you fill out all required fields before submitting your form. Forms that are missing required information will be returned for your completion before they can be shared with the CMS plan finder team.

Please indicate whether this problem has been replicated, meaning that the search wasrecreated and the identified issue was experienced again. Issues that have been replicated will be given higher priority. Concerns that are simply forwarded to the ACL SHIP mailbox without being triaged or replicated will be addressed by the CMS plan finder team on a first come, first served basis.

Please indicate whether you experienced this problem while completing a general or personalized plan search. Please keep in mind that even if you’re experiencing a problem with one type of plan search, you may still be able to successfully complete the other type of plan search to help any beneficiaries you may be counseling.

Please indicate whether the beneficiary you’re assisting has Medicare and full Medicaid (full benefit dual eligible), gets extra help paying for their prescription drugs (and the level of assistance), or does not get a subsidy (not applicable).

Please record the drug list ID number you used for the plan search. The drug list ID is generated after you create a drug list on the Enter Your Drugs page. You can also find this information in the My Current Profile box located in the top right corner of every page in the plan finder.

Please enter the password date for your plan search. You can find the password date for your search listed near the drug list ID on the Enter Your Drugs page, or in the My Current Profile box located in the top right corner of every page in the plan finder.

It’s important that you enter the name and dosage of each drug in question exactly as you entered it into the plan finder. Even slight variations in a drug name or dosage can make a big difference when comparing pricing information and attempting to troubleshoot any issues.

Please use this field to indicate the name of the plan finder web page on which you experienced the problem (for example, Enter Your Drugs, Plan Results, etc.). This is often the same as the answer to Question 6 above.

Please provide a detailed description of the problem you’re experiencing in this section. Include any other details you think may be important, but please do not include any other identifying beneficiary information (such as, a Medicare number). If you think a screenshot would be useful to help illustrate the problem you’re seeing, you may include one in this section.